


Promise

by cnozomi



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Angst, Canon Compliant, F/M, Okay this sounds a lot angstier than what it is, One Shot, Past Abuse, Violence, really it's just Kaz saving the day, when Inej's past catches up to her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 14:45:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12819810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cnozomi/pseuds/cnozomi
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy mission, a warmup to her future as the Wraith- attend the party, make friends with the merchant, and strike a deal. Kaz had picked this mission out for her- a stepping stone to working independently. She had only been with the Dregs for two months and mainly worked side-by-side with the one and only Kaz Brekker himself. Sure, she had done some small missions here or there, but this was the first one that held some importance to the gang. Her target was Grell Synder, a gun merchant who was invested in black market trade more than his ailing wife’s health. Inej didn't think that the words, "No mourners, no funerals" applied to this mission but Kaz Brekker was never one to disappoint.





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of binge-reading both Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom in two days, ~~whoops~~. If you enjoy this fic and have the time, please feel free to leave kudos and/or a comment! You guys have no idea how much inspiration I receive when I see that someone liked my story! :)  
> [ Follow me on Tumblr!](https://blessedburial.tumblr.com)

It was supposed to be an easy mission, a warmup to her future as the Wraith- attend the party, make friends with the merchant, and strike a deal. Kaz had picked this mission out for her- a stepping stone to working independently. She had only been with the Dregs for two months and mainly worked side-by-side with the one and only Kaz Brekker himself. Sure, she had done some small missions here or there, but this was the first one that held some importance to the gang. Her target was Grell Synder, a gun merchant who was invested in black market trade more than his ailing wife’s health. That particular fact would be her one-up if the conversation went south.

“You need to convince him that the money lies with the Dregs, not with the Black Tips.”

“That’s all? No killing?”

“No killing.” Kaz fidgeted with his gloves. _Kaz is never nervous,_ she thought. _What’s the catch?_

“Since when has there been no killing on a mission?”

Kaz averted his eyes. “You will need a dress.”

Inej fought the urge to gag as memories threatened to surface. She hadn’t worn a dress since-

“I’m sorry.” The words barely passed through Kaz’s lips. Inej thought it was just her imagination- a mirage of pity- until she saw the way he looked at the ground. Defeated. She was his last resort or maybe... maybe it wasn’t his choice.

“No one moves the way you do. I need my Wraith for this mission.”

Inej smiled, but it felt more like a grimace. “Anything but purple.”

“Done.”

The end result was a deep red dress with soft lace that climbed over her chest and stretched over her shoulders like a blanket. Kaz had seemed proud of himself - as if the Bastard of the Barrel could feel any other emotion than greed- when he presented the dress to her. Inej didn’t think that there was another dress in all of Ketterdam that showed less skin but still remained alluring.

“I’m counting on you,” Kaz said as he dropped her off at the front of the gala. “No mourners.”

“No funerals.”

****

She was running her fingers through the fabric, the dress falling around her body like silk, when Grell Synder sided up to her.

"I don’t think I recognize you.” The merchant’s voice grated against her ears. She suppressed a shudder- his voice sounded like Kaz’s but it wasn’t. If Kaz’s voice was the sound of rock on rock then Synder’s was more like rusted metal scraping on gravel. She turned to face the man, ignoring the way his eyes wandered over her body. _I could stab into every organ in your body and be out of here before you could cry out._ She almost laughed, she sounded more like Kaz every day. _But then again,_ she noted bitterly, _it’s better to threaten people than to seduce them._

“Just a small trader down on her luck.” She glanced at his face through her eyelashes. He looked to be forty years old with a five o'clock shadow and under-eye darkness to match. 

“Hmm, you don’t look to be a trader. Too pretty for that line of work.” His smile relieved stark-white teeth that sent Inej’s nerves on edge.

Inej smiled, “Why you don’t even know what I trade.”

“Would it excite me?” Synder leaned down and brushed Inej's hair away from her shoulder. _Don’t throw up, don’t throw up._

“Depends.” Inej forced herself to lean herself against his chest. “Does the smell of gunpowder excite you?”

She felt his chest stiffen up as he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You have no idea.”

Inej spun out of his embrace and grabbed his hands. “So tell me, where could a young women go if she wanted to make a deal with the best artillery trader this side of Ketterdam?” _Get straight to the point, Inej._

She led him towards the dance floor, the sounds of a violin falling softly on her ears. She felt his clammy hands through the fabric of her dress, pressing her against his body. Nausea rolled through her stomach when he dropped one hand lower and pushed her head against his shoulder. _I’m going to kill Kaz,_ she thought weakly.

“Guns require deals,” he said.

“I’m prepared to make one.”

“Oh, are you?” He squeezed her backside and spots danced across her vision. _Feel the steel against your thigh, feel the dagger against your skin._

“I think you’ll find the Dregs money more valuable than the Black Tips.”

Synder froze, his hand gripping her side painfully.

“Dance floors aren’t the place to sign contracts.” He led her away from the crowd, her maroon dress floating behind her like the silks she used to wear. _My blades are my weapons. My power lies within them._

Synder pulled her up the stairs of the gala hall and into a room. She didn’t even notice the lack of furniture in the room, her brain shutting down when she heard the audible click of the lock.

“So..” Synder leaned against the door. “The Dregs want me to just forgo the deal with the Black Tips just for a couple extra bucks? You seem like a smart girl, what series of unfortunate events led you to the Dregs?"

 _There is still time to try,_ Inej thought, _don’t take no for an answer._ She sashayed up to Synder and ran her hands up his chest, shivering as she felt his breath hitch under his tux. “I’m only here to make you an offer.”

Suddenly, Inej felt the world spin as he threw her against the door, his body trapping her against the wood.

“Money can only get you so far, sweetheart. Now… another form of payment could be arranged as well.”

Inej had never hated Kaz more than she did in the exact moment when Grell Synder pressed his lips against hers. She felt this desperation before in the men she used to entertain. He was hungry and she was just another meal for him, another prize. She fought against his grip and the spots that danced against her vision. Her brain threatened to drag her under water colder than Fierda rivers.

_“I don’t ever have to… you know,” Inej was sitting against Kaz’s windowsill, the winter air pleading her to follow it down to the cobblestones below._

_“Not ever again.” Kaz walked up behind her and shut the panes as if he could read her darkest thoughts._

_Inej felt her body relax for the first time in months. “Promise?”_

_“Promise.”_

Bile started to rise in her throat as she felt the merchant’s hand slide underneath her dress. He brushed against her thigh before pulling away from her in shock. “My, my… now what do we have here?” Inej opened her eyes and caught the glint of steel in his hands. _My blade. The only things that haven’t betrayed me yet in this forsaken hellhole._

“It would be a real shame to have a Dreg lose her blades but, well, I hope you would understand that those sharp things just won’t work with what I have in mind.” Inej could feel her hope follow the blade as he threw it against the opposing wall. She tried to muster strength to push him off. Even with only two months in the Barrel she was already stronger, faster, smarter. But he was too strong and her panic was sapping her strength away. The static in her head was getting louder as he leaned in to advance, overtaking all of her senses and leaving her an empty shell of a person. She didn’t even hear the window shattering until Synder whipped around.

“You don’t deserve this deal.” Rock on rock. _Kaz._ She let her knees buckle, falling into Synder’s arms. Inej batted weakly at his arms, but Synder just pulled her up against his chest again.

“You have two seconds to let her go or I will end your life.” Kaz glanced down at Inej briefly like he was checking for damage. _Of course he would, I’m his investment._

“Oh come on, Brekker. She’s just a grunt in this operation. She can’t possibly be more valuable than a couple hundred thousand kruge.”

“That’s not for you to decide.” Kaz’s eyes had been reduced to slits and Inej could feel electricity sparking across his body.

“Hm, then maybe the deal’s worth it if I get a night with her.” The merchant snaked his arms around her middle and pulled her impossibly closer. Inej fought back the urge to cry out as her vision went completely dark. “After all, she must be a pretty high whore for Kaz Brekker to personally come and pick her up.”

Inej still had her eyes squeezed shut when the grip fell away from her side, the ground welcoming as she was thrown away from the merchant. She heard the sounds of a scuffle. When she glanced up, she saw Kaz towering over the man, his breathing ragged.

“Nobody touches my Wraith.” His eyes were black. _Like a demon._ Inej shivered from the anger radiating off of him. She could only imagine the amount of fear running through the veins of the merchant squirming under Kaz’s blade.

“Please, I thought, I didn’t-”

“Yeah that’s right.” Kaz’s voice dripped like poison, hot fury behind every word. “You didn’t think.” He flicked the blade down but instead of it impaling the chest- a merciful death- the hilt of the knife sat above his crotch. Inej didn’t have time to cover her ears before the piercing scream ricocheted off the bare walls.

“Death is too kind for disgusting trash like you, but I did promise that I would kill you. And I don’t break my promises.” Kaz looked over at Inej with shame in his eyes.

Inej couldn’t handle it anymore. The bile won and she was retching on the carpet in front of her. _How many more promises will you break in my indentureship?_

She screwed her eyes shut when she heard the slice of the blade in the air. She didn’t even need to check to see if the blade had found its target.

“The blade stays in the body, I don’t want to touch that filth again.” Kaz brushed his gloves against his coat and Inej watched as small glass shards rained down on the merchant’s body.

“You promised.” Inej managed to croak out.

Kaz froze, the only indication that he was breathing in his sagging shoulders. “I know, Inej. Saints, I know. It wasn’t my call.”

“I don’t- don’t care if I have to kill a thousand men in my lifetime before I’m free. You will never make me do anything like this again, Kaz Brekker, unless you want to find a knife dancing across your throat at two in the morning.”

“Prom- Deal.”

Inej pushed herself up, the glass pricking her hands. The pain reminded her that she was alive. “Was this the real mission?” If she had learned anything about Kaz in the Barrel, it was that he always knew all the angles and the outcomes.

“You need to assume that everyone standing before you has bad intentions.”

“And you, Kaz? What can I assume about you?”

“You can assume that I have the worst.” He grimaced when he looked back at Inej, no doubt seeing the bruising along her neck

.

Inej walked up to him, her feet silent among the glass shards. “No, Kaz. There are worst assumptions a person can make. And you may be a criminal, but you would never stoop that low.” She glanced back at the body, the hilts of the knives reflecting the moonlight from the window.

“Perhaps.” Kaz stated, his finger ghosting across his face as if he was in thought. “Now, let’s get you back for a nice drink and a long talk with Per Haskell.”

“Kaz. You know I don’t drink.”

“I never said the drink was for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Check out my other fic for Yuri!!! on Ice [ here!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9123484)


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